


Squaring Off

by Ysabetwordsmith



Category: X-Men (Movies), X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Agreeing to Disagree, Chess, Friendship/Love, Games, M/M, Mutant, Mutation, Mutation is Groovy, Politics, Telepathy, Unresolved Sexual Tension, flangst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-08
Updated: 2013-03-08
Packaged: 2017-12-04 17:00:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/713020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ysabetwordsmith/pseuds/Ysabetwordsmith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erik and Charles play chess in the park.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Squaring Off

Sundays in the park  
with Erik and Charles  
are always a challenge.

Erik is edgy without his helmet,  
which is too conspicuous  
for a quiet public outing,  
and he won't let Charles  
blur it from the minds of the crowd.

Charles is edgy on the rough pavement,  
which makes his wheelchair rattle over the cracks,  
and he won't allow Erik  
to lift him smoothly over them.

Their honor guards fare no better,  
Raven in her blond guise glaring  
at Alex from over Erik's shoulder,  
and Alex fidgeting with his shirt  
as if wishing for his battle harness.  
But at least this way  
Charles and Raven, Erik and Alex  
can see each other  
and each know the other is all right,  
for sufficiently lenient values of "all right."

Charles and Erik square off  
at the chessboard,  
tossing a wooden nickel to determine  
who will take white or black,  
because they have learned to admit  
that they are equals in skill and --  
while their _preferences_ differ --  
each has borrowed from the other's methods  
on occasion.

They speak little  
but the air hangs heavy with intent  
as the pieces move about the board.

Here, and only here,  
they allow each other free rein,  
Charles lightly sending his desired moves  
and Erik manipulating all the pieces with his gift,  
because politics and personal issues aside,  
mutation _is_ still groovy  
and both of them hunger for someone  
who can appreciate the pure beauty of it.

Sometimes the games go quickly,  
one of them devouring the other's pieces,  
flickering through five or six rounds in a single outing.  
Other times, the play drags out,  
and they have been known to stall all morning  
only to end in a draw at lunch time.

They play for the joy and the heartache of it,  
because they cannot bear to stop,  
to leave everything forever unfinished between them.  
This may be the only place they ever see eye-to-eye  
but it is better than nothing  
and they have learned  
to take what they can get.

They rarely get through an excursion  
without someone causing trouble,  
and it's rarely either of their parties at fault.

The snotty girl who calls Charles a cripple  
 _somehow_ trips over her penny loafers  
to land in the mud puddle under the water fountain.  
Charles rolls his eyes at Erik  
and hides a smile.

The punk who slings anti-Semitic slurs at Erik  
earns a sharp glare from Charles,  
then suddenly asks the pig-tailed little girls  
if he may join their game of jump-rope.  
They let him in, to howls of laughter from his friends  
who will _never_ let him live this down for the rest of his life.  
Erik does not bother to conceal his shark-like grin.

At lunch time,  
they shake hands over the board  
before packing it away.  
This is the only time they touch,  
but they linger just that moment longer  
before letting go.

They have learned  
to take what they can get, and  
to get what they can before it is taken away.

**Author's Note:**

> This poem came out of the December 4, 2012 [Poetry Fishbowl](http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/730515.html). It was [originally posted](http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/2609967.html) as the freebie for that session, inspired by a prompt from LiveJournal user Kelkyag.


End file.
